Starship Mark 1

StarPopper

Mission Profile

Starship Mark 1 (StarPopper) was the first full-stack Starship prototype assembled in SpaceX's open-air factory at Boca Chica, Texas, revealed to the public and press at a presentation by Elon Musk on 28 September 2019. The vehicle was never intended to fly — it was primarily a manufacturing demonstration and fit-check article built to prove SpaceX's new construction techniques using large stainless-steel rings and an assembly workforce still learning the fabrication process. During pressurization testing on 20 November 2019, a structural failure caused the forward propellant tank bulkhead to be explosively ejected, destroying the upper section. Mark 1's lessons directly informed the design and construction processes used for the SN1 through SN5 prototypes that followed in rapid succession.